Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a combination of leading-edge information and communication technologies used in transportation and traffic management systems to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of transportation networks, to reduce traffic congestion and to enhance drivers’ experiences. The possibilities are endless.

Developments in technologies present Road Administrations around the world with the opportunity to transform the way that they manage and operate their highway networks. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a combination of leading-edge information and communication technologies used in transportation and traffic management systems to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of transportation networks, to reduce traffic congestion and to enhance drivers’ experiences. The possibilities are endless.

Activities that were traditionally undertaken through human intervention can be automated.

Road network performance can be monitored and adjusted, in real-time.

Data that was previously collected by costly physical infrastructure can be provided through new, richer data sources.

Analysis that was undertaken from historic data can now be undertaken by systems delivering intelligence through real-time data analytics.

Road users choices, previously influenced only through road signs, can be influenced through a wide array of publication channels such as mobile devices/in-car systems.

These possibilities will only happen if Road Administrations have a clear and considered strategy for bringing existing disparate systems, services, and operational approaches together over time.

Intelligent Transportation System at Work

WSP is an international leader in all aspects of the ITS lifecycle, from feasibility to design, implementation, operation and evaluation of field devices, tolling technology, managed lanes, communications, travel information, and transit technology.

Considering how roads are used today and how they will be impacted with the introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AV), transportation agencies need to prepare for the future. Imagine if every vehicle transmitted a signal when it hit a pothole, relaying detailed information about road conditions to transport agencies. In the short term, it will provide information that helps fix immediate problems. In the longer term, this information may contribute to building better roads.

In the U.S., WSP has established the industry’s strongest track record in the development of connected vehicle technology and the deployment of intelligent transportation systems, and is a thought leader in the planning and policy impacts of C/AV on our cities.

WSP completed an ITS Master Plan update for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which included a long-term statewide ITS communication plan to support the future ITS system vision. It also provided a detailed assessment of the Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSM&O) capabilities of the Agency and identified steps to make MnDOT a fully capable and mature TSM&O organization.

Road Administrations need to carefully assess future scenarios of technological developments and make sure that assets, some with up to a 100-year design life, will be able to harness the potential that technology provides, with minimized cost and maximized benefit.